In December 2010, former Defence Secretary and Drugs Minister, Bob Ainsworth, astonished party colleagues by declaring his support for a fundamental reform of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In a Parliamentary debate, he advocated a regulated market. He said he felt that the…
Tag Archive for laws
Druglink article 2001 – An eloquent silence: evidence for prohibition by Danny Kushlick
The government boasts of evidence-based policy making, yet there seems to be little evidence available to support the current policy of prohibiting drugs An eloquent silence: evidence for prohibition (PDF)
Druglink interview 2013 – Baroness Molly Meacher by Harry Shapiro
Events worldwide prompted Baroness Meacher to try to move the drug law reform debate on in the UK. Interview – Baroness Molly Meacher (PDF)
Druglink article 2000 – Head counting: two polls of public opinion by Geoffrey Pearson and Michael Shiner
Two MORI polls of public attitudes to drugs show that the British view may not be what policymakers and researchers imagine Head counting: two polls of public opinion (PDF)
Druglink news item 2013 – Ganja games by Max Daly
Press claims that the ‘Lambeth experiment’ on cannabis resulted in soaring rates of hospital admissions for Class A drugs were wafer-thin on evidence. In April, two national newspapers declared that research proved a softer approach to policing cannabis under Labour in the 2000s ramped up…
Druglink article 2000 – Law-law not war-war: National laws and international obligations by Nicholas Dorn
Research for the Independent Inquiry into the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, discovered that within the big three international drugs conventions there is room for manoeuvre for national drug laws. We don’t all have to have the same laws or…
Druglink article 2013 – Spirits of the age by Harry Shapiro
As the Turkish government recently discovered, trying to rein in a long established drinking culture can be incendiary. The general perception of Prohibition in America, was that, it too, was doomed to failure. But was it a total flop? Spirits of the age…
Druglink news item 2013 – Khat ban spells trouble for ‘Somali pubs’ by Max Daly
The government has announced it will be banning the herbal stimulant khat. But at a mafrish in east London, Max Daly discovers that the decision could have a deep-rooted impact on Britain’s Somali community. Khat ban spells trouble for Somali pubs Additional…
Druglink article 2013 – Artificial paradise by Mike Power
This year New Zealand introduced radical new drug laws in an attempt to deal with the confusion over legal highs. Mike Power on a brave experiment that hopes to marry business, science and politics. Artificial paradise (PDF)
Druglink article 1999 – Touchy subject, explosive matter: volatile substance abuse by Keith Owen
Solvent abuse kills more young people than ecstasy, the law tries to restrict supply but what about service provision? Touchy subject, explosive matter: volatile substance abuse (PDF)